Parrattos say goodbye to Seacoast, SSA

Monday

Sep 27, 2010 at 3:15 AM

By John Doylejdoyle@fosters.com

DOVER — To understand the impact Mike and Amy Parratto have had on the Seacoast swimming community, one need not look further than the amount of scholarship money local swimmers have earned under their guidance.

"We're not talking thousands, we're looking at millions of dollars of scholarship money," said Tim Paiva, a close friend of the Parratto's and president of the Seacoast Swimming Association.

The Parrattos, the founders of the Seacoast Swimming Association and its lifeblood for more than a quarter century, recently said goodbye to the local swimming scene when they moved to Indianapolis to be closer to their teenage daughter Jessica, 16, who is training at the USA Diving National Training Center there.

"Her coach wants her to remain here, and we're a family," Amy Parratto said from her new home. "A family needs to be together."

As a result, the Parrattos are leaving the SSA behind after 26 years of service. The SSA flourished under the Parrattos' guidance. The pair met in the early 1980s when working at the Harvard University swimming facility. They were hired in 1984 by the Seacoast Stingrays, which later became the SSA. The pair was married in 1989 and they have two children, Melissa, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, and Jessica.

"It's very difficult to leave a program we spent half our lives with," Amy Parratto said. "We have so many great memories and friendships we're leaving behind. There are so many great athletes who have gone on to do amazing things. It's bittersweet."

Jared Felker was named the new coach of the SSA earlier this month. Felker, a former SSA swimmer and 2000 Olympic trial qualifier, was selected following a nationwide search and is only the second coach in the program's history.

Countless athletes have worked under the Parrattos since 1984, and hundreds have gone on to earn college swimming scholarships. The Parrattos' most accomplished pupil, of course, was Jenny Thompson, the most decorated Olympian in U.S. history. Thompson won eight gold medals, three silvers and one bronze in four Olympic Games.

"When you think of New Hampshire swimming, you think of Jenny," Paiva said. "Who developed Jenny? That's Mike. He's got a big legacy here, and he'll be missed."

Thompson was the first swimmer from SSA to attend a national meet under the Parrattos' tutelage, and traveled with the family to that meet in Tuscaloosa, Ala., riding an old Datsun with no air conditioning.

"I realized (in 1986) that Mike and Amy were committed to helping me realize my potential (to) break world records and (earn) Olympic gold," Thompson said in a 2007 interview when the pair was inducted into the Dover Sports Hall of Fame. "That is their specialty. I am forever indebted to the both of them for their love, friendship, and mentoring."

While Thompson is by far the best known of the Parrattos' former swimmers, countless others have gone on to success in the sport.

"Jenny Thompson is the gold-medal winning tip of the iceberg," Paiva said. "Dare I say there are hundreds of kids who made junior nationals and senior nationals because of (Mike and Amy)?"

With so many SSA swimmers going on to earn college scholarships over the two-plus decades the Parrattos were in charge, Paiva said he would often quiz Mike Parratto by naming a random college and challenging his friend to think of at least one former SSA member who swam there. Parratto was rarely stumped, according to Paiva.

Though the Parrattos have moved to the Midwest, their involvement in swimming and diving continues. Both are involved in coaching the sports with swimming clubs and at a local high school. Mike Parratto chose not to be interviewed for this story.

"The Seacoast has been our home for 26 years," Amy Parratto said. Dover's been so good to us. The Seacoast is one of the most beautiful areas of the country, and it's a great place to raise kids."

While the Parrattos are fully involved in their new community in Indianapolis, Amy said there is no chance they will adopt one local custom — rooting for the Indianapolis Colts.

"No worries of that," she said with a laugh. "We're not afraid to say we're Patriots fans."

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